Commentary from National Space Society leaders and members on ongoing space missions

August 11, 2005

Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter - Friday launch now?

Just minutes away from launch, the MRO was delayed again this morning - this time a fuel sensor problem in the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage, reminiscent of the fuel sensor problem that delayed Discovery's launch three weeks ago. The next launch window is 7:45 am (EDT) Friday morning.

This Mars Orbiter mission will give an exciting leap in our capabilities for studying Mars - see the mission center at JPL. Scheduled to arrive next March, the orbiter will allow ten times as much data to be returned to earth as any previous Mars spacecraft, studying the surface, subsurface, and atmosphere.

This is the first launch of an interplanetary spacecraft on Lockheed-Martin's new Atlas V rocket.